Updated 10:57 pm, Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Snow covers the Empire State Plaza on Tuesday in Albany. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Snow covers the Empire State Plaza on Tuesday in Albany. (Paul...

A light covering of snow makes for a white Christmas morning at the Empire State Plaza with the capitol building seen in the background on Tuesday. More snow is expected to fall Wednesday evening. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A light covering of snow makes for a white Christmas morning at the...

According to Don Cleveland, a front-loader operator for the state Department of Transportatoin, said the state will probably go through 500 tons of road salt during the storm. Cleveland was loading up at a DOT garage at the corner of Route 155 and the Northway in Colonie. (SKIP DICKSTEIN / TIMES UNION)

According to Don Cleveland, a front-loader operator for the state...

Don Friebel of D&T Landscaping fills up with gas in Colonie, N.Y. Dec 26, 2012 in preparation for the storm that is forecast for the Capital District tonight and tomorrow. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Don Friebel of D&T Landscaping fills up with gas in Colonie,...

NYS DOT driver Lance Kramer walks between snow plows at the DOT offices in Latham, N.Y. Dec 26, 2012 after they vehicles are readied for the storm that is forecast for the Capital District tonight and tomorrow. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

NYS DOT driver Lance Kramer walks between snow plows at the DOT...

NYS DOT operator Don Cleveland watches as tons of salt are delivered in Latham, N.Y. Dec 26, 2012 in preparation for the storm that is forecast for the Capital District tonight and tomorrow. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

NYS DOT operator Don Cleveland watches as tons of salt are...

NYS DOT operator Don Cleveland moves tons of salt are delivered DOT garage in Latham, N.Y. Dec 26, 2012 in preparation for the storm that is forecast for the Capital District tonight and tomorrow. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

"It should be moderate to heavy in intensity overnight," he said, adding that some areas in the region could see hourly snowfall totals of an inch or two.

Wasula estimated that 6 to 12 inches of snow would coat the area by the time the winter storm warning ends.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who criticized the response of utility companies in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in October, warned that power companies need to be ready to handle the aftermath of this storm.

"I want to make sure you are taking every action necessary to reduce the likelihood of power outages that could result from this storm, and to be prepared for any outages that do occur with a sound communications and restoration plan," Larry Schwartz, the secretary to the governor, wrote in a letter to National Grid and several other utility companies.

National Grid said it had extra crews working overnight to deal with damage caused by the storm, said spokesman Patrick Stella. Additional crews are scheduled to work Thursday, he added.

So far, the company has not moved any of its repair crews from one area to another because the storm is expected to cover such a large section of the state, he added.

"We have been watching this for a couple of days, and we are ready," Stella said.

The National Weather Service said the storm had "the classic track for Albany to get pummeled."

Areas north and west of the city should see the most snowfall, said Steve DiRienzo, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Albany will likely see 6 to 10 inches, but accumulations could add up to a foot or more around Schenectady, Clifton Park, Saratoga Springs and Schoharie, DiRienzo said.

Points south, like Bethlehem, Ravena and Coeymans, will see a few inches less, though they may also get sleet or ice, he said. The areas with the higher snowfall totals likely will see very little or no sleet and ice, the meteorologist said.

Those projections could easily end up being more or less than anticipated, he said.

"The hardest thing with these forecast models is that the precipitation amounts are never 100 percent accurate," DiRienzo said. "Some places may get more, some may get less. Who knows? That's the way it goes."

Tuesday's Christmas Day snow was forecast to total 1 to 2 inches, but little more than a trace fell in Albany.

No matter how much snow falls, it will be on the ground for awhile. Temperatures are forecast to remain at or below freezing throughout the weekend and could plummet to single digits early next week, DiRienzo said.

The regional unit of the state Department of Transportation said 176 trucks are ready to roll in an eight-county area that stretches from the Catskill Mountains in Greene County to the Adirondacks in Essex County.

"We'll be having trucks on the road in two 12-hour shifts," DOT spokesman Bryan Viggiani said. "We will be covering 5,300 lane miles."

DOT began preparations Wednesday morning. The state agency also has extra mechanics on hand in case any of the trucks run into trouble during the storm.

As for the Thursday morning commute, Viggiani urged drivers to give themselves extra time to get to their destinations and show patience on the road. He also asked drivers to keep their distance from the snowplows and not to pass the trucks while they are clearing the roads.

A few customers stopped in Wednesday morning for supplies, Phillips said. Many people won't make purchases until the snow hits, he said.

Just 1.2 inches of snow has fallen in Albany this winter season, more than a foot less than the 13.3-inch seasonal average for the date. At this time last year, 6.1 inches of snow had fallen, according to weather service data.

The last time Albany saw snowfall accumulations more than 3 inches was Feb. 29 and March 1, according to weather service data.